'He wasn't moving:' Pediatric respiratory patients fill beds at Duke
Three-month old Kai Evans' tiny toes are usually kicking. But the infant's legs are wrapped up in monitors as he gets treatment for RSV at Duke University Children's Hospital.
"He wasn't moving. He was just sitting there and I was like, 'That's not normal,'" Kai's mother, Amanda Evans, said Wednesday.
Evans said her son tested positive for respiratory syncytial virus or RSV. She said he is a high-risk patient because he was born with two holes in his heart.
"It's been a roller coaster. He looks better but has gotten worse," Evans said.
Kai is one of many pediatric patients fighting a respiratory virus at Duke. The pediatric ICU there is full.
In the past week, Duke Health reported 215 lab confirmed flu tests. At WakeMed, there were more than 1,200 confirmed flu tests, while UNC reported about 400.
Currently, Duke reports 248 RSV cases, with WakeMed and UNC each with about 200.
"We're in a little bit of a crisis and there's no end in sight," Duke Children's Clinical Operations Director Kelly Ellington said.
Ellington said her office fields calls every day from rural hospitals desperate for help.
"Our smaller community hospitals are, they're overwhelmed, they're calling us begging, 'We don't have the resources, can you guys help?'" Ellington said.
While they work to find a place for every patient, sometimes there are no beds left.
Duke Assistant Professor Palen Mallory says up to date vaccination is vital to combat the spread of these viruses.
They work to find a place for every patient possible, but sometimes there are no beds available.
Assistant Professor of Pediatrics Palen Mallory said up to date vaccination is vital to combat the spread of these viruses.
"We all have the duty to protect those in our population who are most vulnerable to these infections," Mallory said.
Evans said she wants other to know that masking and washing hands can help keep children like Kai out of the ICU and breathing on their own.
"Literally oxygen is just saving his life right now," Evans said.
The North Carolina Pediatric Society is facilitating a spreadsheet of available pediatric beds around the state. Many hospitals on that list only have beds available intermittently, on a case by case basis.
